Monday, 31 December 2012

Pretty Heart - New Waves

Pulp’s lead singer Jarvis Cocker once said something along the lines of being on the dole was the best thing ever for bands as it allowed them to have time whilst they were unsuccessful to be creative, experiment and create great art. In a way it’s similar for people writing music blogs. The best ones (be it in terms of the music they feature and curate, the writing, the engagement with their audience or anything else that you might consider to be important to be best) generally have a bit more time on their hands.

So we’re thankful for the time that Crack in the Road and Disco Naïveté found to bring this new artist to our attention. Hailing from Perrysburg, Ohio, Morgan Holliger aka Pretty Heart has been uploading her songs to her Bandcamp throughout 2012 and there’s over an album’s worth available for free download. It’s following the release of her new song Toy, just a couple of days ago, that Crack In the Road and Disco Naïveté got frothing. “It’s undoubtedly going to happen for her, and sooner rather than later,” said Josh at CITR. Jarri at Disco Naïveté was equally as excited, calling Pretty Heart a “talent extraordinaire.”

So with those superlatives, we’re jumping aboard the bandwagon, because, damn it, Pretty Heart is pretty good, in particular her most recent material; the sure sign of an artist who is still developing and may not yet have realised her full potential. Toy is delicious piece of electronic mysticism, like Bat For Lashes by moonlight. Then there’s O Heart! It’s a song of throbbing electronics and echo laden vocals that soundtracks a low budget video of splattered blood and unselfconscious non-choreographed graveyard dancing. Start with these two and then progress to some of her other work such as the dense and occasionally industrial mini album Half Asleep. It’s not all perfect but then what artist is? It’s the flaws that make them exciting.

If artists like Glasser, iamamiwhoami, Zola Jesus and Bat For Lashes float your boat, soon you’ll be sailing dark and hard with Pretty Heart. We are.